Basu

Basu is a surname of Indian origin, most common among Bengali communities in West Bengal, Bangladesh, and the global Bengali diaspora. It is used by people across different religious backgrounds and social groups in South Asia. The exact etymology of Basu is not fixed in a single authoritative source; it is widely treated as a Bengali family name with possible connections to Sanskrit-derived forms such as Vasu or Vasudev, though no consensus exists on a definitive origin.

In demographic terms, Basu is frequently found in urban and rural Bengal as well as in other parts of India where Bengali families have migrated. The name has spread through diaspora communities in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Middle East, where Bengali communities maintain cultural ties and naming conventions.

Notable individuals with the surname Basu include Anurag Basu, an Indian film director and producer known for works such as Life in a Metro. Basu Bhattacharya is recognized as a prominent Bengali film director and screenwriter who contributed to mid-20th-century Indian cinema. The surname is common enough that it appears across fields such as film, academia, and business, reflecting the broad distribution of Bengali families.

See also Basu (disambiguation) for other uses of the term.